Despite calls for him to step aside, Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis[1] said this morning he isn’t going anywhere.

“I am in it to win it,” he wrote on his Facebook page[2]. “We will continue to fight for Colorado’s businesses and families and will not leave this race. Stay strong!”

But top Republicans who have been meeting and discussing the issue said McInnis is done — whether he knows it or not. Party insiders say the damage to McInnis is so severe that he can’t recover, and they are actively courting University of Colorado president Bruce Benson[3], Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry[4], and interestingly, U.S. Senate candidates Ken Buck[5] and Jane Norton[6] who are embroiled in their own primary.

While Penry, who dropped out of the primary against McInnis in November, is respected by many in his party, he lacks one important virtue: cash. Norton and Buck already have large campaign funds and Benson is a wealthy oil and gas executive who could self-fund for awhile.

Because ballots are already printed and go out on Monday, if McInnis drops out the word needs to get out out to voters that a vote for McInnis would be a vote for the new candidate. That takes a lot of radio, TV and mailings, which is expensive.

All this could be moot if the Colorado Secretary of State’s office decides the Republicans can’t substitute a new candidate.

Currently the primary candidates are McInnis and Evergreen businessman Dan Maes[7], who said he is staying in the race no matter what.–The secretary of state is researching whether the GOP can replace McInnis — if he gets out — with a new candidate or if a replacement can only be made if both candidates drop out. But the secretary of state may not let the GOP know ahead of time.

“We will make a decision when and if someone gets out of the race,” said secretary of state spokesman Rich Coolidge[8].

McInnis has been fighting off allegations of plagiarism[11] all week. The Post reported Monday[12] that the “Musings on Water” articles McInnis submitted to the Hasan Family Foundation as “original works” included passages that were similar to or copied directly from a 1984 essay by now-Colorado Supreme Court Justice Gregory Hobbs.